Brussels, 22/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission decided that anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay will close for 3 months staring at the beginning of July in an effort to protect stocks. On 10 June it indicated that it intended to close this fishing for six months, as Spanish fishermen had asked, and who had unilaterally suspended in mid-May, their fishing due to low anchovy catches (EUROPE 8966). This biological ruling will enable Spanish fishermen to get aid (national and Community) during a temporary halt on their activities. French anchovy fisherment, on the contrary, are oppose to any complete ban, and have appealed for the setting up of a specific zone where this fishing is banned. Ther requests have gone unheeded. Following a recommendation by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), that, given the poor state of the stock of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay, the fishery should immediately be closed, the Commission has decided to close this fishery for a period of three months, explained in a press statement. The Commission is, however, intending to organise an urgent meeting of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF), which will examine the most recent data, including those from the French scientific research institute, Ifremer and the Spanish ones, the IEO and AZTI. The Commission will review its initial closure in the light of STECF advice.